Following the 4-0 defeat at Bowers & Pitsea last weekend, a run of five home matches in succession in league and cup has given Felixstowe & Walton joint coaches Kevin O’Donnell and Ian Watson the opportunity to turn things round, get back to winning ways and establish themselves as a top half side, writes Barry Grossmith.

The first of these fixtures took place on Tuesday evening against a youthful AFC Sudbury in The Velocity Trophy. Goalless on 90 minutes, The Seasiders advanced to the next round winning 4-3 on penalties and will face Northwood FC again at home.

Felixstowe started with two up front, Joe Francis and Miles Powell, although Francis did receive his marching orders on 63 minutes with a second yellow.

There were a number of chances for the home side and two offside decisions, both denying The Seasiders the lead, but in reality 0-0 at the end of full time was a fair reflection of things.

Joint coach Kevin O’Donnell admitted: ”A lot of players put a good shift in and Rhys Henry did a lot of good work in midfield too.”

And so attention turns to Romford this weekend (Saturday, 3pm) for a Bostik North League encounter.

The Boro are currently sitting in fifth place, having lost just one of their five starts so far.

Last time out saw them impress with a 3-1 home win against AFC Sudbury.

Speaking in the lead-up to Saturday’s game, Kevin O’Donnell said; “Romford will be up there this season; they’ve got some very physical players in there.”

When asked what The Seasiders need to do for the Romford game, he added; “We’ve got to make sure our discipline’s there in terms of the shape and decision-making as well as getting better at ball retention.”

Romford Boss Paul Martin has signed a number of new players this season, including Taylor Tombides from Canvey Island and West Ham, and the club looks to be in a stronger position this time round than it was in the last campaign when it finished second from bottom, avoiding relegation by just one point, as Norwich United went down.